The National Assembly Budget Committee's Power Struggle Over the 'Comprehensive Real Estate Tax Act' Submission: "Need to Speed Up" vs. "Start with a Work Report"

Yoon Hoo-duk, Chairman of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, is presiding over the full committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 17th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The battle of wills between ruling and opposition members of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee has begun over the government's and ruling party's push to pass real estate tax laws, including the increase of the comprehensive real estate holding tax (종합부동산세, 종부세).

At the full committee meeting held on the 28th, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a tense standoff ahead of the submission of related bills such as the 종부세 and income tax. The ruling party insisted that the bills must be submitted on this day to process the real estate tax laws within the July extraordinary session, while the United Future Party opposed this.

This meeting was the first time that members of the Strategy and Finance Committee from both sides gathered in one place. Yoon Hoo-deok, chair of the committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "Although the committee's activities were somewhat delayed due to disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties, I am glad that we can discuss state affairs together today." He added, "As housing prices have risen sharply among real estate, public anxiety is increasing," and indirectly urged the prompt passage of the bill by saying, "The role of the Strategy and Finance Committee regarding tax reform has become more important than ever."

Democratic Party committee members also emphasized an 'empathic' attitude and called for cooperation from the opposition. Rep. Woo Won-sik stressed, "Even if we compete when competing, we must come together when working for the country." Rep. Kim Doo-kwan said, "I hope the ruling and opposition parties will think together with empathy." Rep. Ki Dong-min said, "Now that we are the ruling party, there is a direction but also talk about speed. Although we are speaking politely now, I don't know how this meeting room will change later," emphasizing, "The most important thing is housing stability for ordinary people and real estate tax reform. I hope it is handled well within July."

On the other hand, the United Future Party committee members unanimously said, "There should be no forceful pushing through." Rep. Kim Tae-heum warned, "I ask the Democratic Party not to push through with force just because they hold the majority seats; otherwise, it will be seen as just words that the economy is difficult." Rep. Seo Byung-soo said, "The Strategy and Finance Committee has traditionally maintained a tradition of not pushing through by force," and urged, "Please proceed with the procedure of receiving a report from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance before submitting the real estate tax bill." Rep. Yoo Kyung-joon also requested, "I hope we can have an opportunity to discuss national issues starting with a work report as before."

Despite opposition from the United Future Party, the Strategy and Finance Committee is expected to submit the bill to increase the 종부세 this afternoon and begin formal deliberations. Democratic Party's Go Yong-jin and United Future Party's Ryu Seong-gul, the committee secretaries, met several times from last Friday until the day before to negotiate the agenda but failed to reach an agreement on the bills to be submitted. Rep. Ryu said in a phone call, "We only agreed to hold the meeting," adding, "There was no discussion about the bills to be submitted, and if the ruling party tries to submit them unilaterally, we will have to consider various means to block it."

The Democratic Party plans to accelerate the follow-up legislation of the July 10 real estate measures, including the 종부세 and capital gains tax, regardless of opposition agreement. Democratic Party committee members increased pressure by demanding a unilateral session the day before when negotiations with the United Future Party on the agenda did not progress. When Floor Leader Kim Tae-nyeon declared, "We will prioritize the passage of tax laws strengthening the 종부세 and capital gains tax on multi-homeowners and corporations in the July National Assembly as a top livelihood task," they took action.

The government's real estate measures focus on strengthening taxes on multi-homeowners. The 종부세 rates for owners of three or more homes and owners of two homes in regulated areas were raised from the previous 0.6?3.2% to 1.2?6%. The capital gains tax burden was also increased. The additional capital gains tax rate applied when selling houses in regulated areas was raised by 20 percentage points for two-homeowners and 30 percentage points for owners of three or more homes.

However, the United Future Party clearly opposes the measures, arguing that punitive taxation cannot control housing prices. They especially criticized the ruling party's stance of "processing within the July National Assembly." The July session runs until August 5, and there are concerns that the discussion time is tight and the ruling party is rushing. A United Future Party Strategy and Finance Committee official said, "The government's tax revision bill, including the 종부세, has not even been submitted to the National Assembly yet," adding, "We suggest discussing the tax revision bill together during the regular September session."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.